A periodontium is a tissue which is present around teeth and plays a role in supporting teeth. It is composed of a gum, periodontal membrane, cementum, and alveolar bone. Among the periodontium inflammations, an inflammation confined to the gum is referred to as “gingivitis”, while the case where inflammation sites extend beyond the gum, and the periodontal membrane and/or alveolar bone are damaged and broken is referred to as “periodontitis”. A general term of these inflammations is “periodontal disease”.
The periodontal disease such as gingivitis and periodontitis is endogenous infectious disease caused by an increase in bacteria in a dental plaque (a lump propagated by attachment of bacteria to food residues in the oral cavity), an influence of other factors, and an inflammation of periodontium. The periodontal disease is different from dental caries, and it causes little pain and progresses before while being noticed in many cases. However, leaving the periodontal disease untreated results in progression of symptoms and there is a high possibility that teeth are eventually lost. An increase in the risk of cardiovascular disease is also another concern.
Periodontal disease strategies include preventive behaviors such as right toothbrushing, plaque control in regular check-ups, and improvement in eating habits. However, realistically, it is very important how to discover ongoing periodontal disease by periodontal disease diagnosis and perform a suitable treatment for the symptom.
Diagnosis of periodontal disease is generally performed by measurement of a periodontal pocket, attachment level, X-ray image diagnosis, or the like. However, these diagnosis methods increase the burden of subjects. Further, these methods for diagnosing periodontal disease have a complicated operating procedure and there is a problem such that the determination standard varies with dentist's individual experiences or skills.
As a method of diagnosing periodontal disease using a periodontal disease marker, a method of diagnosing periodontal disease containing: collecting a gingival crevice fluid with a brush-shaped instrument for collecting it; and detecting biomarkers such as lactoferrin, α1-antitrypsin, and hemoglobin contained in the gingival crevice fluid is known (for example, referred to Patent Literatures 1 and 2). However, components other than a gingival crevice fluid are also contained in the gingival crevice fluid and thus it lacks accuracy when saliva is mixed therein. Further, a method of diagnosing periodontal disease containing detecting occult blood (hemoglobin) in saliva or a spat mouthwash is known (for example, refer to Non-Patent Literature 1). However, components other than the component derived from periodontal disease may also be mixed in occult blood in saliva. Further, the amount of saliva varies among different individuals and exhibits high daily variation and there is no quantitative performance of hemoglobin, thereby being impossible to diagnose the progression stage of periodontal disease.